An Introduction to the history of the Andrew Jackson Miller family By Douglas Hunt, 1998 An ancient Chinese proverb reads, "To forget one's ancestors is to be a brook without a source, a tree without a root." The old homestead, built by my Great-grandfather and his son in the late nineteenth century in Kansas, provided his family with roots, an anchor to his heritage, a source for future generations, a place to return and a link to an ever-growing community. That building now lays desolate, crumbling, dying. But the home is still alive, vibrant in our minds, in our souls. A living legacy of family ties, pride in ancestors who paved the way, a shared memory that binds us for eternity. My father, Leon R. Hunt, son of Isaac and Opal Miller Hunt, taught me the value of family and honor, and introduced me to the family homestead and my ancestors. George Conrad, "Grandpa", Miller instilled great pride in Leon. He embodied the bold, self-reliant spirit that had made the conquest of this vast continent possible. He was one of the last great "frontiersman", always looking for untamed lands to subdue. I remember him from a photo, sitting tall in the saddle, six-gun strapped to his waste. His father, Andrew Jackson Miller must have shared this spirit, for he pioneered the North-West Territory and the Great Prairie of the United States in the forefront of it's westward expansion. What part does this Miller heritage play in our lives today, in our make-up, in what drives us? I believe it is "everything". It's the structure that supports us. It's that which breathes life into us. It's a treasure map we must explore. And we must also pay homage by remembering. The origin of the surname, Miller is the English occupational name for the individual who operates the machinery for grinding grain into flour or meal, from the Middle English term "mille" or Old English, "mylen". So, at some place in time, we know that our ancestor, the "miller", adopted this name. But, as the name and it's variations was common and used throughout Europe, it is not known where Andrew Jackson Miller of Dubuque, Iowa and his ancestors originated. The Irish potato famine of 1841 brought large numbers of Irish immigrants into the Dubuque area. Also, thousands of Germans and Dutch fled to Davenport, just downriver of Dubuque, in 1836 and after the failure of the 1848 German rebellion. Soon the Czech and the Polish people followed, coming upriver to Dubuque and moving westward into Jones, Delaware, and Linn counties. Family oral tradition suggests that the Millers immigrated from Europe and were part of the Pennsylvania-Dutch settlement in New England and thus of German descent (Deutch) and probably "Muellers" or "Mullers" originally, later changing the surname to the anglicized version, "Miller". There is record of a Jacob MULLER (Miller) and his brothers, Christopher, Francis and Frederick who arrived in Philadelphia by ship in September of 1753. The brothers settled in what is now Washington County, Pennsylvania, with six other German families. In 1776 this area was Ohio County, Virginia. A descendant of this family, Jacob MILLER, who was born in 1790, died in 1886 in Buchanan County, Iowa which is adjacent to the East of Delaware County where Andrew lived. Family oral history traces "our" Millers to Dubuque, Iowa where the family Bible records the marriage of Andrew to Frances White in 1861 (in another record, Cordelia Francis). We know from this same record that Andrew was born in 1829 but have no birth place. Interestingly enough, his name may give us a clue as to where he and his folks lived. Andrew Jackson of Tennessee, "Old Hickory", who took office this same year, was our first "Western" president-- more popular with the citizens outside the New England states, the first "common" people's president, which might indicate that the Millers were from West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky or Ohio. Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin were just opening up to public land sales but may have been settled prior to this time by our Miller ancestors. Certainly this would indicate that Andrew was born in the U.S. and thus not part of the mass exodus from Europe during the '30s and '40s. There was an Andrew in the West Virginia 4th Regular Infantry Volunteers during the Civil War. Could this be the same Andrew who returned home to West Virginia to inlist after marrying Cordelia in Iowa? There was also a Conrad and George Millers who fought for West Virginia; were any of these family members? Is that where Andrew's son derives his name? We now know from the 1870 census record that Andrew claims Ohio as his birthplace. And there is an Andrew J. Miller in the 1850 census for Tuscarawas County, OH who is 20 years old; could this be the same man? We also have a marriage record in Clayton County, Iowa of Andrew to Frances Cordelia White in 1861. George Conrad Miller, the first of Andrew and Francis' five children was born October 20, 1862 near Dubuque, in either Colesburg or Dyersville, according to the Bible record. These towns were about 20 miles apart and 30 miles east of Dubuque, in Delaware County. It's possible that the family farm was located between these two towns. There is also a record suggesting that the family resided in Osterdock, ten miles north of Colesburg. The economic panic of 1873 and the following economic depression may have prompted the immigration of many in the Dubuque area to free land in the West made available by the recent Homestead Act. This departure was probably compounded by a severe grasshopper infestation that descended on the state in 1873 and subsequent years. Many families from Iowa settled in Eastern Kansas, in Franklin and Osage Counties. In 1875 Andrew Jackson Miller loaded his family and his earthly posessions in a covered wagon and immigrated to Kansas, where he homesteaded land in Osage County, near Lyndon. Andrew died in 1912 and is burried in Scranton, Osage County, Kansas. George Conrad Miller married Isabelle Doyle on October 24, 1894 and settled in Osage County, Kansas. He moved his family in 1903 to Ellsworth County, near Lorraine, Kansas and again in 1910 to Ness County. In 1911, George moved his family to a desolate section of "Homestead" land--probably some of the last government land grants-- in southeast Colorado. There he built a "dug-out" and animal sheds against the side of a knoll, using the slab rock from the escarpment, stacked one on top of the other to form the walls. He transported his water from a stream on the far side of the valley. This frontier life was such a struggle for Isabelle and the children that she finally moved them back to Ness County. But George remained living on the homestead for the five years required to claim the title. It is with certain knowledge that as we explore our Miller past we will find significant contributions to the growth and security of this great American enterprize that are predestined by that heritage to continue for generations to come. Sources: "The Hunt Family Journal" by Karen Miller Hoover Hunt Family Bible record by Opal Miller Hunt "The History of the Jacob Miller Family of Donegal Township, Washington Co, PA" by Elizabeth Jane Miller Hack "The American Pageant, A History of the Republic" by Thomas A. Bailey Civil War Roster, West Virginia archives "Dubuque, The Key City" by Julia Krapft